Do you have Google's Pixel 2 XL smartphone? If you can recall, the Pixel line of smartphones are the first smartphones branded as a "phone by Google" and they are hailed as the purest Android phones around.

Similar to what Apple does with its iPhones and iOS, Pixel phones are designed by Google itself, ensuring a perfect marriage of hardware with its own Android software.

Unfortunately, this marriage is not too perfect, after all. It looks like owners of the Pixel 2 XL are having hardware problems with their handsets and the only fix is to replace the phone itself.

Pixel 2 XL slowdowns

If you're experiencing frequent slowdowns and lag on your Pixel 2 XL, you are not alone.

A growing number of Pixel XL 2 owners, including prominent tech bloggers Artem Russakovskii and Marques Brownlee, are reporting unexpected performance problems with their gadgets.

According to tweets from Russakovskii, due to the slowdown issues, he had his Pixel 2 XL examined by both a Google engineer and a PR person to analyze the issue. He added that both Google employees were both "visibly surprised" with how much lag there was on the smartphone.

After 2 hours analyzing his Pixel 2 XL, Google conceded and the company simply gave him a replacement smartphone. The company also stated that it will investigate the issue further.

Marquees Brownlee, on the other hand, documented his slowdown problems with his Pixel 2 XL on a YouTube video he posted on August 1. He said that his Pixel 2 XL's increasingly laggy performance forced him to switch to his OnePlus 6 completely.

Three possible causes?

According to 9to5Google's Managing Editor Stephen Hall, an anonymous tip revealed that Google has identified three possible causes for the Pixel 2 XL slowdowns, and one will require hardware replacements.

Right now, it is not known how widespread the Pixel 2 XL slowdown problem is and how many owners are actually affected.

If you think that your smartphone is one of them, you may want to contact Google at the Pixel Support Page now and see if your unit qualifies.

Who knows? Since Google is currently investigating the problem, the company might even replace your Pixel 2 XL with a brand new unit if you're experiencing the same hardware issues as reported. Now that's one opportunity that you shouldn't pass up.